I agree that the grain on your walnut looks so fantastic. It's cool how each cabinet door is outlined by a darker frame of wood, and the inset panels are slightly lighter.

What a charming house and child! You did a beautiful job and kept a great timeless feeling while creating something new. Did you say where you lived? Just curious but don't worry I won't stalk you or your house.

Looks great; especially love the backsplash tile and the little kid :o)!

Amazing! I love the way you stayed true to the style of the house. The walnut cabinets and that fabulous tile are beautiful together. You've created a wonderful kitchen that will be so full of happy memories for that cute little boy. :-)

Sorry I see you say where. I am on the east coast but grew up in Southern California. My design heart is out there but we are staying put. The most positive aspect I feel here is the land we have. Anyway that has nothing to do with your post but good luck with your new kitchen.

Beautiful. Gives me more confidence in our remodel (the kitchen is being demolished today) -- ours is a 1928 bungalow on the peninsula.

It looks fantastic! I remember when you posted your early layout(s) and I'm so glad that you followed up with the results. Beautiful cabinets (and darling kid of course.)

Great job!. My faves are the backsplash and floor tiles.
Now get to work and start cooking. Zac looks hungry.
Enjoy your new space.

Looks great! I especially love the cabinets. Enjoy your lovely new kitchen.

Beautiful cabinets...it looks lovely.

Wonderful kitchen, congratulations. The grain on those tall panty doors flanking the fridge is stunning. Enjoy!

Absolutely stunning! I love the combination of light counters with the gorgeous walnut cabinetry. Any chance you can share a picture of the central patio? It sounds lovely and unusual!

You did a wonderful job with a modern kitchen that is respectful of the (adorable) original home. That's hard to do, and really hard to do WELL. Congrats!

Thank you all for the great comments on the kitchen and Zac! I could not have designed this kitchen without all of the great ideas I found on this site from this community. You really inspired me to break away from the standard "off the shelf" kitchen and to attempt to create something unique.

@Sochi -- thank you! Your kitchen was the one that kept me from waivering on the decision to go walnut!

@pricklypearcactus -- I'll try to find one of the patio. Its still a mess from the remodel, but I think I have one that shows it well. On the West side of San Francisco, a lot of the houses had center patios, but many have been filled in for extra space and/or to stop the leaks. We're lucky that ours is in great shape. Someone added a vaulted glass enclosure to protect it from the elements and still allow full natural light.

@remodelfla -- You'll love the Grazia Listelli tile in a bathroom. The tile store we used had a bathroom display with the tiles and they're beautiful. My only complaint is they do not have a lot of finishing pieces that match. However I think you can mix with the Grazia Rixi fairly easily.

@Momtotwinboys -- Best of luck on your remodel! Just remember, a crock pot can be your best friend during a remodel! We cooked a lot of pot roasts, stews, etc. - hearty comfort food to get us through the remodel. (And mixed in a lot of good chinese take out.)

Your cabinets are so gorgeous I just can't stand it. Beautiful job, well done!

What a great space!!
Congrats and Enjoy!!

Beautiful, beautiful kitchen!! Nice job!

And cute kiddo, too :)

Zach is a cutie!
Also, congratulations on a fabulous kitchen! Love the walnut and the shelves.

Also, love the peek of the central patio that I got from the pictures! :-) That aspect of SF homes has always fascinated me! (Interior open spaces to bring in light and air).

Congratulations!

Beautiful! Its clean lines suit the fuss-free style of your home. Love the walnut!

Zac's a cutie and since it looks like he's a redhead, he's stolen my heart (I have a redhead, too).

Your house looks so charming. I love the green tile with those gorgeous walnut cabinets. The whole color scheme is very soothing. Zac is a cutie.

I love it all, but what I love most is that backsplash tile - it really ties your kitchen to the rest of the house!

Gorgeous! Love all that walnut cabinetry! The backsplash is beautiful, too!

Oh, walnut is my favorite wood. I wish I could just reach through the monitor and touch those cabinets. Beautiful job. Just lovely.

I have to say though, I am wistfully in love with the big ol' white sink with the wall-mount faucet. What happened to it? Did it get repurposed?

Beautiful! I just got back from visiting my walnut cabinets and these pictures make me even more excited! This space is just wonderful and I've enjoyed watching your progress. A question, where did you end up getting your tile? I think I remember a thread where you found it considerably cheaper than one of the popular places to find it. I'm afraid I'm going to have a copy cat kitchen, but not by intention!!!

Not only a great job, but perfect cab choice. Walnut is very much in keeping with the style of your home. My MIL lived in West Portal for 38 yrs but sold in 2006. Her home and the other homes on that street are very similar to yours. Theirs were built by the developer Westborough (yes, the one who's got a major street named after him in nearby Daly City). Do you have any history on your house?

You are indeed very lucky the center patio is in good shape. Many are not, and the design is quite difficult to adapt to a bigger, more modern kitchen. You did an excellent job, and are to be congratulated!

Beautiful! Enjoy all of your hardwork. It is a wonderful blend of modern and classic- something you will never get tired of.

Thanks again, everyone -- your comments have made my day!

@cluelessincolorado -- I can hardly wait to see more walnut cabinets! We bought our tiles at FloorCraft in San Francisco. We checked around, but everyone was basically the same price (~$12/sqft). The Listelli however were much cheaper than our concept of using Heath tiles. (I love Heath, but couldn't justify the price.)

@jkom51 - I have just started researching our house. So far, I'm pretty sure it was built by Parkside Realty. I found an ad from them that described our house and general location. The only problem is Doelger built houses on the next block down - so it could be one of his too. Doesn't matter much, both built in the same way, using the same general plans/features. I have to say, I think the West side of SF has some amazing architecture and history.

You have a gorgeous home and now a gorgeous kitchen to match! Love the cabinets, counters, and especially how they work with the BS.

Little Zac is a cutie!

Agree to everything above, my favorite is the rich color of your walnut cabinets and the fridge wall! A perfect gallery wall and ledge above sink for all Zac's creations! (mom of 3 here, can ya tell?) Enjoy!

Your cabinets are just beautiful. What a great job.

First of all, is there anything cooler than living in San Francisco? I bow to your geographic hipness.

I love the house, and especially the interior courtyard, how very European of you.

I was among those who loved the old space, but then I didn't have to cook in it. I must say that your old poster did a perfect job of highlighting the tile colors!

So, on to your new kitchen. Bravo! Love the subway tile, the walnut shelving detail, and the cool floors!

enjoy!

Beautiful cabinetry and everything else! Congratulations!

Lovely kitchen, and adorable kitcheneer : ) . Modern with a vintage vibe, and smoothly serene...

I almost missed this and I'd been waiting for it for a while! (we've been busy with farming and gardening)

Becky

I was worried after seeing your before pix that the new one might not end up as special, but you managed to make it fit and exceed your old kitchen's style! The new tile is fabulous (and that was a tough act to follow). In fact, the only thing better than the tile in your kitchen is Zac ;)

Nice! I'm pleased to see that you kept the patio. How many of the neighbors have taken their patio out?

Are you moved in? I ask because I'm curious to see what goes on the shelf above the sink.

Wow - what a beautiful job. It's also very inspirational for me, since I also have a Sunset inner patio home. (My tile is very similar to the tile in your "before" pictures - but my kitchen also has a circa 1970 update that includes formica with gold specks and marbling!) Your pictures will help to keep me pushing forward on my own project.

Thanks for sharing.

This is so cool. Modern, but not too sleek and cold. Love. It.

Zacsdaddy - I love it. You hace succeeded in modern with nod to the past. Walnut, wow and the tile is great. I think I might be inspired to try a color (when I finally pick out my tile.) The whole effect is clean, sleek but warm. Enjoy!

What a lovely kitchen. Walnut is such stunning, warm wood and I really like the green subways. As for an interior courtyard in a SF row home...it sounds like a wonderful place to live.

Enjoy!

Thanks again, everyone!

@Coastal_Modern_Love: You nailed it! The open shelving was designed to hold Zac's art as he gets a little bigger. We really didn't need the additional storage, but wanted a way to pull walnut into that section of the kitchen. The shelves are actually only 8" deep with a small picture rail on the top to hold items in an earthquake. (Living in SF, we've learned the hard way!)

@redheaddeluxe: That is so cool that you're in a center patio home too! They pose a unique design challenge in layouts, but I love them! For us, the hardest part was figuring out a good place for the stove. Usually I'd want to place it somewhere completely out of the way, but that's not really possible in our layout. Anyway, best of luck to you!

stunning! love your schoolhouse fixture. all of the details are perfect. and the house is just beautiful. Zac's a little cutiepie!

beautiful! Very sleek and warm. Your photos make me miss SF. We just moved from Haight Ashbury (near Buena Vista) down to Southern California. The city is a really special place and I miss it terribly. You have a gorgeous home - I love those interior patios!

Thank you, all! I promise I'll post pics of the inner patio when I post to the finished kitchen blog -- a few more weeks and the decorating will be complete.

Love it! The grain of the walnut on the fridge wall makes my heart palpitate! The tile--perfect! Open shelves are the perfect place to displace Zac's artwork--he's too cute! A great update to your kitchen while still making your home feel cohesive. Enjoy!

Congrats! The cabinets and backsplash are showstoppers! I really think walnut is the next white.

It is beautiful! I LOOOOOOVE your backsplash! Cute kiddo too

Flwrs-n-co and I are having the same cardiac reaction to your cabinets. Love!

Can you post a close-up of the quartz? That's not a color I saw in the store.

Ideagirl2 -- Thank you! I'm happy to report I still have the same cardiac reaction every morning when I walk into the kitchen!

The photo below is pretty accurate as to the color of the countertops -- they are Ceasarstone Buttermilk. Its a nice creamy color and has a spotted "water drop" pattern in it. If you are interested in it, make sure to see a large sample as the smaller sampled do not give an accurate impression. I love the spots because you can't see them from a distance, yet give a nice texture up close. (and they are great at hiding a dirty countertop -- very important when you have a toddler!)

For us, once we decided on the walnut cabinets, we wanted them to be the star of the kitchen. We layered on other textures and patterns, but all of them are very subtle so not to distract from the cabinets. This helped to keep the kitchen more vintage feeling. A busy granite would have made the space feel modern.

Good luck!

I love the kitchen floor tile! Could you kindly share more info to locate it, such as the Italian manufacturer name, a link or where you purchased? I have searched the internet for Basalt Graphite and could not find a US distributor. Thanks, and congratulations on a fabulous renovation.

@Marty790 -- thank you! We love the tile and are very happy with the selection. We bought it from Import Tile Co. in Berkeley, Ca. (importtile.com) Their part number is BA12.24FGRA. When we ordered, we got lucky as a shipment had just arrived from Italy. I know they have a hard time keeping it in stock ... but good luck!!